Iraq held Spain to a 1-1 draw at the Estadio de Riazor in their final friendly on home soil ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ferran Torres opened the scoring after latching onto Dani Olmo’s pass and dashing towards goal from the halfway line, but it was Merchas Doski’s stunning strike that will be replayed over and over as the 26-year-old’s first-ever international goal dragged Iraq level.
Spain remain unbeaten in regulation time across their last 29 matches, but will be looking to improve on back-to-back draws when they face Peru in Mexico next week.
As it happened
The first men’s international match at the Estadio de Riazor since September 2009 was cast into doubt when the stadium suffered damage during Deportivo La Coruña’s promotion celebrations, although it was deemed safe by authorities ahead of Thursday’s kick-off.
Spain started well in their final friendly on home soil ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Alex Baena’s right-footed strike testing Ahmed Basil inside the opening 10 minutes.
La Roja found the breakthrough soon after when Dani Olmo’s pass from within his own half sent Ferran Torres through and into space. The Barça forward darted beyond the Iraqi defence and rolled a fine finish underneath the outstretched arms of Basil, moving above both Sergio Ramos and Alfredo Di Stéfano in Spain’s all-time goalscorer charts in the process.
Iraq had been second-best throughout the opening stages but made Spain pay when, with 27 minutes on the clock in Galicia, Merchas Doski dragged the visitors level with a tremendous lobbed shot from the left flank. The 26-year-old German-born defender latched onto Akam Hashim’s long ball over the top, opting to take a couple of touches and lob Joan Garcia from range to score his first-ever goal for his country.
Thursday’s hosts sought to regain their lead immediately when Olmo beat the Iraqi offside trap but shot directly at Basil, and Baena nodded a header over the crossbar from an Alex Grimaldo cross moments later. Ferran could have completed a first-half brace too, though he was also denied by Basil, who tipped his strike from the edge of the box against the woodwork.
After a flurry of changes at the break for both sides, Spain continued to search for their second goal of the night – and it didn’t look like they’d be made to wait long, as substitute Jesús Rodríguez dashed towards the edge of the box before unleashing a fierce effort that flew a couple of inches wide of the target.
Crystal Palace’s Yéremy Pino saw his strike deflected behind for a corner, which was swung into a dangerous area by Baena but ultimately spurned. The full-back saw yet another teasing delivery come to nothing just before the hour mark, when his well-placed cross was fired wide of the target by substitute Gonzalo García under pressure from the Iraqi defence.
The remainder of the second half played out at a considerably slower pace, in part thanks to non-stop substitutions. Ali Jasim was the only player to complete a full 90 minutes, with both managers making use of their benches in a bid to avoid costly injuries so close to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Iraq’s Graham Arnold will be – by some distance – the happier of the two head coaches as Spain stutter to a second consecutive draw following their stalemate with Egypt back in March.
Iraq analysis: These moments of magic are all they need
Thursday’s pre-tournament friendly was always going to be a difficult test for Iraq against the reigning European champions, who also happen to be the favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
The gulf in quality between the sides was apparent. Iraq were sloppy in possession at times – although they looked rather dangerous on the counterattack, and were able to haul themselves level when a moment of magic from Merchas Doski caught Joan Garcia off guard.
Thrust into a tricky group that also includes Norway, France and Senegal, those moments of magic will be exactly what Iraq hope to replicate this summer as they make their first appearance at the FIFA World Cup since losing all three of their group stage games in 1986.
Drawing from behind against Spain – albeit only in a friendly – will offer significant confidence to Graham Arnold’s men, who have had a rather unusual path to their first World Cup in four decades.
As the 62-year-old Australian told World Soccer, Iraq’s preparations for their intercontinental playoff against Bolivia were disrupted by the ongoing conflict in Iran, which forced the Lions of Mesopotamia to endure a two-and-a-half-day long journey to Mexico, via the Jordanian border and a stopover in Lisbon.
But that will not matter anymore to Iraq, who now have the World Cup firmly in their sights and will be buoyed by what is, on paper, an impressive result against the tournament favourites.